Hey folks. Nothing earth-shattering here. Just thought I'd share some thoughts on speakers I heard this weekend that a) I had not heard before and b) don't see mentioned 'round these parts much.
I went out of town this weekend to visit family and friends in Richmond, VA. Stopped in Blue Oasis audio and was impressed by the offerings....a lot of sort-of off the beaten path brands. In the showroom were speakers from Dali, Quad, Era and a few others. I didn't have a whole lot of time (killing time while the wife was shopping), and didn't get to hear the Quads, but did listen to some Era's and some Dali's. I did at least get to see the Birds Eye Maple 11L's from Quad and wow, those things are beauties. Moving on.
I listened to the
Era D4 sattelites as well as the
Dali Ikon 1's. I told the guy I was very budget-conscious and he steered me towards these two as bang-for-the-buck offerings. In my opinion, he was totally right.
The D4 simply blew me away with what it was putting out for such a small speaker. 4 inch driver. Only 9 1/2 inches tall. But wow. What a ton of sound from these little things. I had him play them sans-subwoofer and I'm still scratching my head as to how they got that much low end out of a 4 inch driver. The highs were not as extended as I would like (I tend towards a brighter speaker), but by no means were they lacking. Overall, these little things are brilliant for those of you looking for great sound, but are, eh hem, constrained (*cough*wife*cough*) as to how large your speakers can be.
Next were the Dali Ikon 1's. I do not see many write ups on these speakers. Being perfectly honest, I couldn't even really say I had read anything on them. But, I did know them by name (sort of) and the guy suggested I give them a listen when I told him I was hoping for more extended highs. Well, let's just say I'm now shopping for a pair of these. At $875 msrp, they're not exactly "budget" but they ain't the most expensive out there either. Interestingly, they use both a soft dome tweeter and a ribbon tweeter in conjunction with one another. For me, the highs coming from these little speakers was sublime. The bass was taught and authoritative and the lower-mid range was clean and clear. But it's the upper-mid and up into the highs that were the real treat for me. I don't know if it's the ribbon tweeter as I've not heard any prior to these, but it was simply awesome.
Just thought I'd toss these out there b/c, again, I don't see much written up about them. Everyone's tastes are different, and what sounds great to me may not to you, so take this for what it's worth. Just thought I'd throw 'em out there in case you have a dealer near you. If so, give 'em a listen. I was well impressed.